Mastering Value Betting

The purpose of value betting on the river is to extract value from your opponent when you believe your hand is ahead.

The bigger the bet, the more your opponent will contract their range and the bigger the gap between your landing equity and finishing equity will be.

You should value bet when your hand is strong enough to pick a certain bet size and urgency is high.

The purpose of denial is to deny equity to live hands that your opponent has to fold.

Urgency in value betting refers to how important it is to bet now based on the time remaining in a hand and the desired investment ceiling. Weaker hands can delay betting, while stronger hands need to start betting earlier.

At shorter stack depths, urgency is lower as there is less money to be invested by the end of the hand. On the other hand, bigger stack depths increase the urgency.

Landing equity refers to the equity of a hand before the opponent reacts to a bet, while finishing equity is the equity after the opponent calls the bet. Higher landing equity generally leads to higher finishing equity.

The urgency of value betting is determined by the amount of time remaining in a hand and the desired investment ceiling of the hand.

Weaker value betting hands can delay their betting because they don't need to invest as much money by the end of the hand.

Stronger value betting hands want to invest more money by the end of the hand, so they have to start taking larger investments earlier.

At shorter stack depths, urgency is lower because there is less money to be invested by the end of the hand.

Landing equity is the equity of a hand before the opponent has reacted to a bet, while finishing equity is the equity after the opponent has called the bet.

Bet sizing affects the range of the opponent and the gap between landing equity and finishing equity.

On wet turns, lower landing equity is needed compared to dry turns or rivers.

When in position, there is a risk of re-opening the action, making checking a more viable alternative.

When out of position, checking is a less viable alternative since the action is not closed for that street.

Denial is useful when the fold equity gained by betting is advantageous for the player.

Urgency in value betting refers to how important it is to bet now, based on the time remaining in a hand and the desired investment ceiling of the hand.

Stronger value betting hands need to start taking larger investments earlier in the hand compared to weaker hands.

The less the opponent is raising, the more important it is for us to build the pot with hands that have a high investment ceiling.

At shorter stack depths, urgency is lower as there is less money to be invested by the end of the hand.

Landing equity is the equity of a hand before the opponent has reacted to a bet.

Finishing equity is the equity of a hand after the opponent has called a bet.

Higher landing equity translates to higher finishing equity.

At least 50% equity after being called (finishing equity) is needed to value bet the turn.

At least 55%-60% equity after being called is needed to value bet the river.

Less equity is needed to value bet the turn because denying equity to weaker hands that fold can still yield some EV.

The bigger the bet, the more the opponent will contract their range.

Because on wet turn spots, the hand is ahead more often than the equity suggests.

When in position, slightly more equity is needed to value bet.

When out of position, slightly less equity is needed to value bet.

You must value bet when your hand is strong enough to pick a certain bet size and urgency is high.

It is optional to value bet when your hand is strong enough to pick a certain bet size and urgency is not high.

You cannot value bet when your hand is not strong enough to pick any bet size or you are not building a betting range using a sizing small enough to value bet your hand.

Denying equity to live hands your opponent has to fold.

Denial is useful when the fold equity obtained by betting is largely useful to you.

Denial can swing a thin value hand to a bet on a wetter texture, adding equity to hands which can give it enough equity to bet for value.

The urgency of value betting is determined by the remaining time in a hand, the desired investment ceiling of the hand, the opponent's raising frequency, the hand equity, and the stack depth.

Landing equity is the equity of a hand before the opponent reacts to a bet, while finishing equity is the equity of a hand after the opponent calls the bet.

At least 55%-60% equity is required when called to value bet the river.

The factors that should be considered when determining the landing equity needed for a value bet on wet turn spots compared to dry turns or rivers include the likelihood of our hand being ahead, the potential range of our opponent, and the viability of alternative options such as checking.

Denial (aka protection) is not a sufficient reason for betting because it only has a limited impact on the pot and it does not take into account the potential for losing additional money against hands that beat us when we risk a bet to make those hands fold.

Denial can be used as a swing factor in value betting by allowing us to convert a thin value hand, which would prefer to check in a way ahead/way behind situation, into a bet on a wetter texture. This can add equity to our hand and make it profitable to bet for value.

The higher purpose of a value bet is to either extract value from our opponent's weaker hands or to bluff them off their stronger hands. A value bet should not be made solely for the purpose of denying equity to live hands or protecting our hand.